Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
Psalm 100:1-2esv
Psalm 100 is one of the best known and most loved psalms. This hymn of thanksgiving invites the whole world to come to God’s temple in Jerusalem and enter its sacred spaces with unbridled joy and hearts filled with gratitude. And why should we? The psalm provides the answer. Not only has God created us—a gracious act of love in and of itself—but He has made us His own people. He has chosen us and loved us. As with Psalm 23, God’s people are cast in the role as sheep living well in His pasture. The psalm ends on a high note of confidence and hope. At all times—but perhaps more in times of difficulty—we need to be reminded of what is true. Regardless of what seems to be happening around us, the Eternal is good; His love and faithfulness will endure forever. – Voice Translation
This week we will continue to unpack what it means to live a grateful life. Gratitude is our greatest weapon against entitlement and complacency. Gratitude redirects our attention from our lack to His supernatural provision and blessings.
How do we cultivate a grateful heart? Studies show that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. To cultivate means to foster the growth of some- thing, to improve by labor, care or study, and to make friends with someone. For the purpose of this devotional on gratitude we are doing just that. We want to foster the growth of gratitude as a lifestyle, improve our ability to practice gratitude through study and understanding, and make friends with gratitude like our life depends on it. Why? Because if we can cultivate a heart of gratitude everything in our lives and the lives of those around us will shift. As we begin to see life and circumstances and people through different lenses, our hearts line up with the heart of our Creator.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Melody Beattie
REFLECT: Gratitude is a condition of the heart. Let’s kick this week off with a heart-check. What was the last thing you thanked God for? What’s in your heart that is blocking you from cultivating gratitude? Are you more focused on what you didn’t get rather than what has been given? RESPOND: Our first response to re-shape how we see the world around us will be to enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise. Grab a piece of paper, your journal where you write it doesn’t matter right now, but the discipline of writing down what you’re grateful for does. Start by writing “Five Things I’m Grateful For” at the top of your paper and write down the first five things that come to mind. They can be people, places or things. After you’ve written them down, take a minute and re-read Psalm 100.
Prayer: When you get to the part that says “give thanks to Him and praise His name” pray something like this: “Lord, thank you for….” (fill in your five things)
#prayer #praise #dailydevoitonal #andthewallscamedown
That’s it. Sounds super simple but the power of that specific prayer you prayed has the ability to shift your mind, heart and your life. This small discipline could change the way you see God, yourself and others!
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